Question intonation – 1 EASY tip to remember!
Video Lesson #09When asking questions in English, sometimes your voice needs to up at the end and sometimes it needs to go down. In this video, you’ll learn an easy tip to help you choose which one!
Do you like pizza? (rising)
What’s your favourite pizza? (falling)
Here’s the one EASY tip to help you choose if your intonation goes up or down!
Ask yourself, what’s the answer to my question?
If the answer is ‘yes’ or ‘no’ , then the intonation in your voice needs to rise, or go up. Questions that start with words like can, do, are, is and have usually have an answer of ‘yes’ or ‘no’ , so our intonation needs to rise.
- Are you hungry?
- Does he eat meat?
- Have you tried durian?
For all other questions, our voice needs to fall, or go down when we ask the question. Questions that start with words like what, when, where how and why don’t have yes/no answers, so our intonation goes down.
- How are you hungry?
- Why doesn’t he eat meat?
- When did you try durian?
Ok, lets compare two sentences:
UP DOWN
Are you hungry? How are you hungry?
Does he eat meat? Why doesn’t he eat meat?
Have you tried durian? When did you try durian?
Do you like pizza? What’s your favourite pizza?
Now, it’s your turn.
Are you hungry?
Why doesn’t he eat meat?
When did you try durian?
Do you like pizza?
Remember this easy tip next time you’re asking a question in English!
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Remember this easy tip next time you’re asking a question in English: If the answer is ‘yes’ or ‘no’ , the intonation in your question is rising, it goes up. If the answer is NOT ‘yes’ or ‘no’, the intonation in your question is falling, it goes down.
mmmEnglish Video Lessons are a series of videos that focus on English in daily life. You can watch them on your computer, phone or tablet. They are only short, so you can watch them again and again! Subscribe to my YouTube Channel to get my new videos emailed to you!